1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus which is provided with a heating section which heats an ink and an ink heating method for the printing apparatus.
2. Related Art
In the related art, an ink jet recording apparatus is known which is provided with a head which ejects a UV ink, a sub-tank which reserves the UV ink, an ink circulation flow path including a circulation outgoing path in which the UV ink which is supplied from the sub-tank to the head flows, and a circulation return path in which the ink which returns to the sub-tank from the head flows, a heating mechanism which is provided in the circulation outgoing path and heats the UV ink which flows in the circulation outgoing path, and a filter which is provided between the sub-tank and the heating mechanism in the circulation outgoing path and filters the UV ink which flows in the circulation outgoing path. In the ink jet recording apparatus, by heating the UV ink to a predetermined temperature using the heating mechanism while causing the UV ink to circulate in an ink circulation path, the UV ink is caused to have an appropriate viscosity for ejection from the head (refer to JP-A-2013-240980).
The present inventor discovered the following problems.
In a printing apparatus such as the ink jet recording apparatus of the related art, there is a case in which a filter section is provided in an ink circulation flow path. In this case, since the pressure loss of the ink in the ink circulation flow path is great, in response to this, the flow rate of the ink in the heating section at the time of ink circulation in the ink circulation flow path is reduced. As a result, the heating efficiency of the ink is low, and a long time is necessary to heat the ink to a predetermined temperature.
In a printing apparatus such as the ink jet recording apparatus of the related art, the flow path length of a first circulation flow path from the heating mechanism to the sub-tank is comparatively long. Therefore, the heat discharge which is radiated from the ink which is heated by the heating mechanism by the time the ink circulates within the first circulation flow path and reaches the heating mechanism again is comparatively great. As a result, the heating efficiency of the ink is low, and a long time is necessary to heat the ink to a predetermined temperature.